I will never use sand as substrate again

[slipshodman]

So .....

I have a 6x2x2 running with an FX6 , fake plants, some large river rock, wood and about an 1 & 1/2 inch of sand
good size grain sand... not the fine stuff
I have a second internal filter for water clarity and two wave makers to keep things moving around to get the gunk to go to the filter intake

50% Water change every fortnight at the least and i vacuum at the time as best i can

Inhabitants are a sailfin pleco, one female convict, a gold Severum and 11 Carpintis ranging in size from 1 inch to 6 inch

I have always had a bit of trouble keeping the sand real clean as when vacuuming it is a balance between sucking up the gunk and not sucking up the sand, as i said the sand is not fine but large grain sand

http://klorman-industries.com/pool-magic/product/blue-circle-filter-sand/

So i got myself the vacuum set up for the FX6 , this is even more troublesome when it comes to sucking up sand as it is going straight back into the filter , so i haven't really been able to use it as turning it down makes it too week and turning it up sucks the sand into the filter....
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...les/2016/11/17/review-fluval-fx-gravel-vacuum
Yes i know it has a tank to filter before going into the Fx6 but this just got filled up with sand real quick

So yesterday i had had enough... "Stuff it, i am getting all the sand out"

So i started to use a siphon hose and sucked the sand (and water) into a buck (over and over again) till i got 75% of it out. Just tipped the water out and then the sand into a huge bucket
As i went along I removed the river rock, wood and plants as well
Every buckets water was brown..... the amount of crap stuck in the sand must have been huge

The poor fish must have been living in Sh#t soup ... all readings were ok with Nitrate only at around the 20ppm mark before i started to remove the sand

So for me ...THAT"S IT, NO MORE SAND, the 6x2x2 will either stay bare bottom for a while of i will put in some gravel, i have two other tanks with sand, so next weekend i will finish off the sand in the 6x2x2 and start on the removal of sand from other two tanks

So some advice please

• If i stay bare bottom are the rocks an issue putting them directly on glass ?

• Will it effect the fish having no sand to dig/play in ?

• If i cant put the amount of rock work back in and the tank stays more open will aggression be an issue as there will be minimal hiding spaces ?

And happy to hear any other comments about sand substrate why you do or don't use
Or any other types of issues with substrate

Rant over....

Cheers

 

[robham777]

I use pool filter sand in almost all my tanks. It can be a bit of a pain, but I like it so I deal with all the issues you raised. I don't think placing decor directly onto the glass will cause any serious damage to the tank, maybe some scratches. I have actually seen it recommended to place rock work directly on the glass to prevent fish from digging underneath it and being trapped or crushed. You could cut out some thin styrofoam or some sort of plastic to place under the decor to prevent scratching.

 

[Gourami Swami]

You can use eggcrate ("lighting diffuser" a t home depot) to put underneath the rocks. If you have any stacking of the rocks I would recommend this, fish can knock the rocks over and if stacked they could potentially crack the bottom.
The fish do like to dig in the sand/gravel, but unless you have eartheater types (geophagus, thoricthys, etc) I would say it's not all that necessary. Even geos can do okay without it. But they would be happier with some.
Less hiding spaces can either work for you or against you as far as aggression, I have seen it go both ways. Usually I recommend more hiding spots, as the fish seem to be more comfortable when they can retreat. But people who overstock the crap out of tanks with cichlids usually have no décor at all, to stop the fish from establishing territory and thus defending said territory. But establishing and defending territory is a natural behavior for these fish, so I like to allow them to do it in my tanks.

 

[slipshodman]

Thanks Guys

You can use eggcrate ("lighting diffuser" a t home depot) to put underneath the rocks. If you have any stacking of the rocks I would recommend this, fish can knock the rocks over and if stacked they could potentially crack the bottom.

I have the "Egg Crate" at home as i used it under the rock with the sand to disperse weight as much as anything else, but if i use it in a bare bottom tank wouldn't that just catch a heap of crud in it ?

Other ideas ?

Maybe foam or plastic like robham777 suggested

 

[nzafi]

If you’re able to empty the tank temporarily I would recommend either installing tile that you silicone in, or painting the bottom of the tank. If glass, there are some cool textures paints that will give you a sand look.

Gravel will be worse than sand. I haven’t done sand before but I understood the crap stays on top. With gravel you will get a lot more wasting trapped underneath it, and will be harder to clean. I did fluorite in my 180g after having it bare bottom and regretted it.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Thanks Guys




I have the "Egg Crate" at home as i used it under the rock with the sand to disperse weight as much as anything else, but if i use it in a bare bottom tank wouldn't that just catch a heap of crud in it ?

Other ideas ?

Maybe foam or plastic like robham777 suggested

detritus will probably settle in it, sure. But if you plan on stacking rocks in the tank, I wouldn't go without it. Wood is better in barebottom tanks, if you want to go full a barebottom I would put a bunch of wood I instead of rocks.

 

[A201]

I use pool filter gravel for substrate. Not to be confused with pool filter sand. Its a fine reddish brown gravel. Heavy enough to avoid being siphoned out and packs tight enough to keep the gunk near the top layer. I bought approx. 150 lbs. of PFG 20 years ago. It's still in use in my 120 G.

 

[celebrist]

If it compacts so much aren't you concerned with possible anaerobic pockets

 

[esoxlucius]

If you have fish that like to dig then it's only right you should have some form of substrate in there. If not, why not go bare bottom substrate wise with maybe just wood and a few rocks.

I used to have gravel but in keeping with my simplistic minimal maintainance approach I got rid of it. I installed powerheads to direct flow to the out take and i've never looked back since. Now I never vacuum yet the bottom of my tank is always clean. That's a big plus for me in the substrate v bare bottom debate.

 

[RD.]

Eggcrate does not distribute the weight of rocks, it's only purpose is what GS stated, to hopefully stop a break in the glass if a pile of large rock/rocks falls.
All of my large river boulders are directly on the glass, and I have been doing that for many years in numerous set ups. If the rocks are not sharp, no worries, and no need for foam, eggcrate, or anything else. But nothing huge is stacked, the large boulders stand on their own as territorial markers, line of sight breaks, escape routes etc. In tanks with gravel, the gravel is very sparse, with bare spots scattered about the bottom. An uber thin layer that only covers maybe 50-60% of the bottom. If you don't use much very little waste is trapped between water changes, and it takes little effort to suck up what is there. Over time the bare spots fill in with algae etc. It looks natural, and gives the fish a little something to sift through. Even sand sifters seem fine with it.